GreedFall: The Dying World Review
Developed by Spiders Studio and published by NACON, GreedFall: The Dying World is the newest entry in the GreedFall universe and the studio’s most ambitious RPG project to date. Spiders is known for building narrative-driven RPGs in original worlds, with previous titles including Bound by Flames, The Technomancer, and Steelrising.
Originally referred to as GreedFall 2, the game was later renamed GreedFall: The Dying World to better reflect its place in the timeline. Rather than continuing the story of the first game, this installment takes place three years before the events of the original GreedFall and offers players a completely different perspective on its world.
The GreedFall universe draws heavily from 17th-century Baroque Europe, blending historical aesthetics with fantasy elements. On the continent of Gacane, nations are struggling through political conflicts and a deadly plague known as the Malichor, while the mysterious island of Teer Fradee holds secrets that may be key to survival.
Unlike the first game, where players explored the island as colonists searching for a cure, GreedFall: The Dying World flips the narrative. This time, you play as a native of Teer Fradee who is forcibly taken to the continent, navigating a world filled with political intrigue, competing factions, and colonial tensions.
I never played the first GreedFall, so going into this game felt like a fresh start for me. I was genuinely curious to see what the world had to offer.
Character Creation
The game begins with a unique opening moment: your portrait is being painted by a foreigner, and that’s where the character creation process begins.
The character creator is pretty decent overall. It’s not the most advanced system I’ve seen in an RPG, but it does give you enough options to craft a character that feels personal.
One thing I did appreciate was the range of customization for Black and PoC characters. Too often, games add darker skin tones but fail to include warm undertones, leaving characters looking oddly ashy. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case here. The options felt thoughtful enough that creating a character with deeper skin tones didn’t feel like an afterthought.
Aesthetics
First things first: this game is genuinely beautiful.
The opening town in of Vigeshvar immediately caught my attention. The environment is full of lush foliage in shades of green, red, orange, and yellow. It feels vibrant and alive, almost like stepping into a warm autumn day on a secluded island.
The artistic direction clearly draws from that Baroque inspiration the developers mentioned, but it’s blended with fantasy landscapes in a way that feels painterly and atmospheric. Even early on, you can see the amount of work the developers put into building this world. It helps that they have decent Photo Mode to capture the beauty of this world.
The Fictional Language
Now… this is where things started to get tricky for me.
As someone who usually prefers playing games with spoken audio in Mandarin, English, or the primary language of the game, I wasn’t prepared for what happens in the prologue.
During the entire opening sequence, the characters speak Yecht Fradí, a fictional language created specifically for the natives of Teer Fradee. The language was developed by a linguist and is inspired by Proto-Celtic languages like Old Irish and Breton.
In theory, that sounds cool. And I absolutely understand what the developers were trying to do—create something immersive and culturally distinct.
In practice, though, it didn’t work for me.
Instead of feeling immersed, I felt disconnected. Listening to an entirely fictional language for extended dialogue scenes made it harder for me to stay engaged, especially since I was constantly reading subtitles instead of connecting with the performances.
And honestly, the voice acting didn’t feel very passionate to me. I suspect that may partly be because the language itself is completely invented, which might make it harder for actors to deliver emotional performances.
At one point, it was actually easier to just take my headset off and read the subtitles in silence.
Creating a fictional language doesn’t automatically make a culture feel alive. In this case, it didn’t quite land the way I think the developers intended.
Storytelling
That said, I do want to give the game credit for something important.
GreedFall: The Dying World tackles a theme that not many games approach directly: colonialism.
The indigenous peoples of Teer Fradee are colonized by foreigners and made to be laborers—essentially enslaved (a very familiar story). Perhaps, this is the reason the prologue’s audio is completely in the fictional, indigenous language.
Players eventually find themselves transported to the continent of Gacane, a place divided by powerful factions such as the theocratic nation of Thélème, the technologically advanced Bridge Alliance, and the influential maritime guild known as the Nauts.
The story also centers around the Malichor, a mysterious disease ravaging the continent. Meanwhile, Teer Fradee seems mysteriously immune to it, which only intensifies the colonizers’ interest in exploiting the island and its people.
Even though I’m new to the GreedFall universe, it didn’t take long for me to get a sense of what was going on.
From the very beginning, the way Furkan, the foreigner painting my portrait, spoke to my character, gave off some serious colonizer vibes.
And sure enough… things escalate from there.
Gameplay
The gameplay took me a little while to get used to.
The combat system has been redesigned compared to the original game and leans into tactical real-time combat with an active pause system. If you’re familiar with RPGs like Dragon Age: Origins or Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the structure will feel somewhat familiar.
Players can pause combat to issue commands to their companions, reposition themselves, and plan their next moves strategically.
Up to three companions can join you in battle, and each one has their own abilities and combat style. You can even take direct control of them during fights if you want more tactical control.
Personally, this style of combat isn’t exactly my favorite. That said, it’s not bad; it just isn’t the kind of system I naturally gravitate toward.
Final Thoughts (For Now)
To be completely honest, I struggled to connect with GreedFall: The Dying World early on.
That doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. Far from it.
There’s clearly a lot of care, ambition, and worldbuilding behind this project. The setting is visually stunning, the political themes are interesting, and the developers clearly tried to create something rich and layered.
But sometimes a game simply doesn’t click with you right away.
That said, I’m not giving up on it just yet. A friend of mine recently picked up the game and she absolutely loves it, so I’m planning to keep playing and see if it eventually grows on me. Sometimes RPGs take a little time before they really start to shine.
You can pick up Greedfall: The Dying World on Green Man Gaming for Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. You can also learn more about it on Facebook, X/Twitter, and YouTube.
System Requirements
Minimum
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (8GB)
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 30 GB available space
Recommended
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (8GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12GB) DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 30 GB available space
Additional Notes: High 1080p @ 60 FPS
FAQ
What is GreedFall: The Dying World about?
GreedFall: The Dying World is a narrative RPG developed by Spiders Studio and published by NACON. The game takes place three years before the events of the original GreedFall and follows a native of Teer Fradee who is taken to the war-torn continent of Gacane.
Is GreedFall: The Dying World a sequel?
Not exactly. While it’s set in the same universe, the story takes place before the original game and focuses on a different protagonist.
Is GreedFall: The Dying World multiplayer?
No. The game is a single-player narrative RPG focused on story, companions, and tactical combat.
Is GreedFall: The Dying World Worth It?
Right now, I’d say GreedFall: The Dying World will probably appeal most to players who enjoy slower, tactical RPGs and deep worldbuilding. For me, the opening hours didn’t fully click, but I’m planning to spend more time with it before forming a final opinion.
